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Building owners throughout the world are increasingly turning to the Passive House standard. This past autumn, the number of square meters that have been certified internationally based on the highly efficient standard reached one million. The symbolic threshold was crossed with the certification of the Midori Haus in Santa Cruz, California. Almost 25 years after the construction of a prototype house in Darmstadt, tens of thousands of tenants and homeowners continue to benefit from the low ...[continue reading]

The transmission utility responsible for the electricity infrastructure of much of Texas has an idea that could change the power industry. Oncor, who is responsible for transmitting power to large parts of the state including the Dallas/Fort Worth area wants to invest billions of dollars in large scale battery storage to help manage the uneven demand for electricity and improve the reliability of the region's electric grid. Batteries would allow the utility to store ...[continue reading]

A year ago I started a project to reduce the energy consumption in my condo. I’ve gone through two keys steps already: measuring the energy I currently use and taking steps to reduce the energy used for heating (HVAC)). My next main area of focus was on lighting. Lighting accounts for approximately 20% of energy use, both in residential and commercial infrastructure. In order to reduce the energy used by lighting, I implemented two ...[continue reading]

If I could retrofit my house and install a Sprinkler System I would do it in a New York minute. Sprinkler systems save lives and prevent fires from spreading, plain and simple. They are not complicated systems. They work by putting water on fire.[continue reading]

The past year has been an exciting journey for me – after buying my first place (an older {1985} brick, 850 sqft condo, in a walkable part of Ottawa) I went to work renovating it to both my aesthetic tastes as well as sustainable passions. I finally feel like I’ve accomplished what I set out to do – create a home that has its own story, which has been so uniquely woven into mine.
I ...[continue reading]

Nothing gobbles up energy—and eats away at a homeowner’s budget—like heating and cooling the home’s interior. Considering the number of points in a traditionally-built home where air—along with the money you’ve spent to warm it up—leaks in and out, dad’s classic question of, “Are you trying to heat the outdoors?” comes to mind.[continue reading]

Consulting online reviews has become an integral part of the modern consumer’s buying process. A recent study from Dimensional research found that the buying decisions of 90% of respondents were influenced by positive online reviews, while 86% were influenced by negative reviews.[continue reading]

As someone aware of your environment, you know many areas have water issues. You see it every day on TV or in the press: Is our water safe to drink? Is there enough? Are we headed toward restrictions or rationing? How about water for farming? And water use has an impact on your wallet: The average home spends around 20% of its annual energy bill just heating hot water. [continue reading]